Team:Stony Brook/Human Practices
Human Practices
An important aspect of synthetic biology is the consideration of how the technology has applications in society. Not only do projects have to be responsible, but they have to be good for the world. We believe that collaborating with scientists, experts, lawmakers and the general public is essential to ensure that projects benefits the greater good of society. Our approach to human practices involved working with professionals, farmers, policy makers and consumers to understand their opinions about various aspects of our project, GMOs and pesticides, and using this feedback to validate our project goals and to educate the general public about the misconceptions they may have about the genetic modification of crops.
Our knowledge gained during Human Practices was integrated in major ways:
- Understanding where the confusion surrounding genetic modification stems from and applying this to presentations and discussions with the public during outreach events.
The Stakeholders
- Jennifer Ross - HeartBeet Farms
- Rick Zimmerman - GM Crop Farmer
- “There is a fear surrounding GM crops and it’s founded in misunderstanding.”
- During our talks with Rick Zimmerman, a farmer whose crops are genetically modified, we gained insight on how the public perception of these crops affects him. Zimmerman informed us that there is a national regulatory framework for the approval of GMO crops where the farmers have to participate in growth trials to test the yields and proof of safety in order to proceed with cultivating the seeds. Another reason for these trials is to make sure that the crops don’t pose a threat to biodiversity, which is also a main concern amongst the public.
Working with Professionals
- Nora Catlin - Suffolk County Agriculture Program Director
- Elizabeth Wolters - Deputy Director of Public Policy for New York Farm Bureau
- During discussions with the deputy director of public policy for the New York Farm Bureau (NYFB), we learned about current laws on genetically modified crops and how they affect farmers in the NYFB. In New York State, laws widely support the production of genetically modified crops. NYFB members produce a variety of these crops and would like to continue to do so. The financial and logistical benefits reaped from the reduced need of pesticides, water, and direct sunlight are astounding. The farmers are able to generate a higher yield which, in turn, means a greater financial benefit for them and more food for the consumer. However, according to Wolters, the consumer perception of genetically modified crops remains negative and has been for some time. Wolters compared consumers seeing “genetic engineering” on food labels is as if they had seen a skull and crossbones on the packaging. We asked Wolters how she recommends people try to adjust the consumer perception on genetically modified crops. She advised us to be truthful and work on the education of the public.
- Johnathan Wanlass - Suffolk County Pesticide Monitoring Program
- Dr. Phu-Tri Tran - Postdoc Associate, Plant Virology
- Dr. Vitaly Citovsky - Biochemist
Governmental Concerns
After hearing a lot of feedback regarding the public concern about the health risks and safety of genetically modified crops, we decided to delve deeper into the laws on genetically modified organisms.
Definition of GMO
The definition of GMO’s is different according to the agency, law, and country that you cite. The definition that one uses for a GMO changes per agency, country and law. It depends on where you’re launching the product and what kind of GMO product you are going to be selling. In the US, GM plant crops are regulated by three different agencies the EPA, FDA, and USDA. However, only the USDA explicitly specifies the definition of GMO. According to the USDA, GMO is an organism produced by Genetic Modification. Genetic Modification is an umbrella term for both selective breeding and Genetic Engineering. Genetic Engineering refers to the more modern technique that is controversial now involving the manipulation of DNA. In an international setting it is hard to say what kind of definitions of GMOs would be used because of the different acronyms used and the different protocol, and countries that define it.
History of GMO
Because of the different definitions, names, and categories that government bureaus, farming organizations, international agencies and even international protocols it’s hard to define a certain time as the “start” of what we know as a genetically modified organism. However, since we are in the US, we will be using the USDA’s definition of GMOs which does include selective breeding. Using the USDA’s definition of GMO’s, GMOs have been around for thousands of years in the form of selective breeding. This technique can be cited as far as 30,000BC for the breeding of wolves into dogs and in plants from 7,800BC. That being said the most controversial form of GMOs - Genetic engineering involving DNA was first invented in 1972 with the advent of gene splicing. The first GM plants came about around 1986. Genetic engineering is relatively new and since it’s invention has been subject to regulation, court cases, conferences, and laws.
Consumer Views on GMO
Consumer views on GMOs are easily skewed especially when the average everyday consumer is more exposed to what food companies advertise as compared to other agencies like the FDA, USDA, and even the AAAS say. According to all three, crops that are genetically engineered as just as good as the normal crop (selectively bred). Even the AAAS says that GE crops are perfectly fine to consume. However, a persistent fear and concern of GE crops still exist in the general public. Reasons for this include, how new GE techniques are they were only discovered in the late last century. Another reason for this includes, seed monopolies of Monsanto, as well as the negative effects of Roundup. Another reason is that the non-GMO project stamp of approval on food means an opportunity for more profits for a company.
The Approval of GMO
There are many rules and regulations and tests that GM products have to go through before they are even able to reach the public. However, the same problem is posed to GM products that is shared across any drug, vaccine or other consumable in the human body. The long term impacts can be theorized and predicted and tested for but you will never know the long term impacts for sure until the product has been out for a number of years. Since we are focusing on GM crops, we will be looking into GM crop regulations specifically. The genes used in the crop must first be very well characterized. You have to know what you are putting into the DNA of a certain crop and specifically what it is going to do when it is inserted into the DNA of the crop. Then once you have the gene inside the crop, that's when the next round of testing begins. The crops with the newly inserted gene will be grown and then compared to normal crops without the gene. Additionally, any environmental, health and ecological impacts must be studied. The crops must be proven to have substantial equivalence which means that they should be just as good or better as normal crops that are not genetically engineered. After the testing is done by the company the next step in the approval process is to be evaluated by the EPA, FDA and USDA.
GMO Prevalence
The population of people is going up every year and every year that means more mouths need to be fed. In a normal field of wheat, you cannot expect 100% of the crops to be harvested and usable. Farmers must always set aside a percentage of their fields and expect a percentage of their crops to not make it in their crop yield. However, when you look at the losses on a larger scale a substantial amount is lost to pests and mold. GMO crops help improve crop yield, produce heartier plants, increase nutritional value, and decrease the use of pesticides. It is getting harder and harder to feed the growing population and advancements in gmos are needed to help curb this problem.
References
A list of our sources can be found here.
